Message from Prijedor pupils: “Let’s get to know each other!”

“We should respect every country and their peoples. It is important to respect minorities and learn about their traditions and customs,” is the message from students from Omarska.

Students from 12 primary schools in Prijedor municipality present their visions of the traditions and customs of minorities in Prijedor and Bosnia and Herzegovina with interactive performances, workshops, presentations and traditional foods.

“Today we are representing the Roma minority. We have prepared a short play about their tradition and an informative presentation about them. We are ready for today’s quiz and we hope to win!” said a student from Kozarac, filled with excitement.

The quiz about national minorities is one of the activities of the project ‘Strengthening the national minorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina’ funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe in Prijedor, with the goal of raising awareness and improving the position of the four national minorities living in Prijedor (the Czechs, Ukrainian, Roma and Slovenian minorities).

“Primary school Jovan Cvijić from Brežićan is presenting the Czechs. Our team has worked hard and researched national minorities and are definitely ready to win the quiz,” said Olivera Brdar Mirković, school Director.

The activities of the students aim to promote national minorities and contribute to awareness raising and improving the needs of minorities in the fields of tradition, culture, history and language in the communities in which they live.

‘Strengthening the national minorities’ is one of the projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina being implemented in the framework of the three year programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey” with the aim of improving and harmonising mechanisms for the protection of fundamental rights of minorities with European standards. The total value of the programme in Bosnia and Herzegovina is 2.7 million euro.

Europa.ba